Extendable wire-based data communication cable assembly

ABSTRACT

Various implementations of a data communication cable assembly are disclosed that improve the transmission of data signals that traverse long distances. Some cable assembly implementations are configured to transmit data signals via one or more electrical wire mediums and one or more signal extenders that modify the data signals for improved transmission between devices over one or more electrical wire mediums. Other cable assembly implementations are configured to transmit data signals via one or more optical transmission mediums and optical-to-electrical and electrical-to-optical converters for improved transmission of the data signals between devices. Other cable assembly implementations are configured for cascading or daisy-chaining together for transmitting data signals between devices in the optical and/or electrical domain.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to non-provisional patent application Ser.No. 16/797,477 entitled, “EXTENDABLE OPTICAL-BASED DATA COMMUNICATIONCABLE ASSEMBLY” and patent application Ser. No. 16/797,491 entitled,“CASCADABLE DATA COMMUNICATION CABLE ASSEMBLY” filed concurrentlyherewith, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to data communicationcables, and in particular, to various extendable data communicationscable assemblies.

BACKGROUND

A data communication cable is often used to communicate data signalsbetween a first device and a second device in a unidirectional orbidirectional manner Examples of such data communication cables includeUniversal Serial Bus (USB) cables, High-Definition Multimedia Interface(HDMI) cables, DisplayPort cables, Digital Video Interface (DVI) cables,and others.

In the past, these types of data communication cables were made out ofpassive components, such as electrical wire mediums. However, high speeddata signals typically degrade when they travel long distances overelectrical wire mediums. For instance, as the cable length increases,the likelihood of errors in the transmission increases. This degradationworsens with higher signal bandwidth, e.g., ultra-fast communicationprotocols trend towards shorter cable lengths. For example, the USB 2.0protocol, which operates up to 480 Mbps, is practically limited to cablelengths of five (5) meters or less due to signal attenuation anddistortion over passive electrical wire mediums.

This limitation in cable length restricts the placement of electronicdevices in homes, offices, commercial or industrial setting. Users maywish to have additional freedom in connecting their electronics in anyway they desire. Factors, such as architectural layout or ergonomics,can limit electronic device placement, such that traditional cablelengths make their connection unattainable.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more embodimentsin order to provide a basic understanding of such embodiments. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated embodiments,and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of allembodiments nor delineate the scope of any or all embodiments. Its solepurpose is to present some concepts of one or more embodiments in asimplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that ispresented later.

An aspect of the disclosure relates to a data communication cableassembly including a first connector configured to mate with a connectorof a first device; a second connector configured to mate with aconnector of a second device; a cable including opposite ends securelyattached to the first and second connectors, respectively, wherein thecable comprises one or more electrical wire mediums configured totransmit a data signal between the first and second devices; and asignal extender configured to modify the data signal to improve thetransmission of the data signal between the first and second devices.

Another aspect of the disclosure relates to a data communication cableassembly including a first connector configured to mate with a connectorof a first device; a second connector configured to mate with aconnector of a second device; and a cable including opposite endssecurely attached to the first and second connectors, respectively,wherein the cable comprises one or more optical transmission mediumsconfigured to transmit an optical downlink data signal from the firstdevice to the second device, and an optical uplink data signal from thesecond device to the first device.

Another aspect of the disclosure includes a data communication cableassembly, including a first connector configured to mate with aconnector of a first device; a second connector configured to mate witha connector of another data communication cable assembly; and a cableincluding opposite ends securely attached to the first and secondconnectors, respectively, wherein the cable comprises one or more datatransmission mediums configured to transmit one or more data signalsbetween the first and second connectors.

Another aspect of the disclosure relates to a first data communicationcable assembly, including a first connector configured to mate with aconnector of a second data communication cable assembly for datacoupling to a first device; a second connector configured to mate with aconnector of a third data communication cable assembly for data couplingto a third device; and a cable including opposite ends securely attachedto the first and second connectors, respectively, wherein the cablecomprises one or more optical transmission mediums configured totransmit one or more data signals between the first and secondconnectors.

Another aspect of the disclosure relates to a data communication cableassembly, including a first connector configured to mate with aconnector of another data communication cable assembly for data couplingto a first device; a second connector configured to mate with aconnector of a second device; and a cable including opposite endssecurely attached to the first and second connectors, respectively,wherein the cable comprises one or more data transmission mediumsconfigured to transmit one or more data signals between the first andsecond connectors.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreembodiments include the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects ofthe one or more embodiments. These aspects are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of variousembodiments may be employed and the description embodiments are intendedto include all such aspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary datacommunication cable assembly configured for full-duplex datatransmission over twisted-wire electrical wire mediums in accordancewith an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 1B illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication cable assembly configured for half-duplex, time-divisionmultiplexing (TDM) data transmission over at least one twisted-wireelectrical wire medium in accordance with another aspect of thedisclosure.

FIG. 2A illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary host-sidecascadable data communication cable assembly configured for datatransmission over at least one twisted-wire electrical wire medium inaccordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 2B illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplaryperipheral-side cascadable data communication cable assembly configuredfor data transmission over at least one twisted-wire electrical wiremedium in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 2C illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary datacommunication system including a set of data communication assembliescascaded together to communicatively couple a pair of devices inaccordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 2D illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication system including a set of data communication assembliescascaded together to communicatively couple a pair of devices inaccordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 3A illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary cascadabledata communication cable assembly configured for data transmission overat least one twisted-wire electrical wire medium in accordance withanother aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 3B illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication system including a set of data communication assembliescascaded together to communicatively couple a pair of devices inaccordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 3C illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication system including a set of data communication assembliescascaded together to communicatively couple a pair of devices inaccordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 4A illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary host-side signalextender of a data communication cable assembly in accordance withanother aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 4B illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary peripheral-sidesignal extender of a data communication cable assembly in accordancewith another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 5A illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication cable assembly configured for full-duplex datatransmission over optical mediums in accordance with another aspect ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 5B illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication cable assembly configured for half-duplex, time divisionmultiplexed (TDM) data transmission over at least one optical medium inaccordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 5C illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication cable assembly configured for full-duplex, wavelengthdivision multiplexed (WDM) data transmission over at least one opticalmedium in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary cascadabledata communication cable assembly including one or more optical mediumsin accordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 7A illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication system including a set of data communication assembliescascaded together to communicatively couple a pair of devices inaccordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 7B illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication system including a set of data communication assembliescascaded together to communicatively couple a pair of devices inaccordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 8A illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplaryhost-side cascadable data communication cable assembly including one ormore optical mediums in accordance with another aspect of thedisclosure.

FIG. 8B illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplaryintermediate cascadable data communication cable assembly including oneor more optical mediums in accordance with another aspect of thedisclosure.

FIG. 8C illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplaryperipheral-side cascadable data communication cable assembly includingone or more optical mediums in accordance with another aspect of thedisclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of another exemplary datacommunication system including a set of cascaded data communicationcable assemblies in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with theappended drawings, is intended as a description of variousconfigurations and is not intended to represent the only configurationsin which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detaileddescription includes specific details for the purpose of providing athorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may bepracticed without these specific details. In some instances, well-knownstructures and components are shown in block diagram form in order toavoid obscuring such concepts.

FIG. 1A illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary datacommunication cable assembly 100 configured for full-duplex datatransmission over electrical wire mediums in accordance with an aspectof the disclosure. The data communication cable 100, as well as allothers described herein, may be used for any type of data communicationapplication. In the example described herein, a Universal Serial Bus(USB) compliant cable is used to exemplify the cable concepts. However,it shall be understood that the data communication cable assembly 100may be configured for other types of data transmission, such as thosecompliant with High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), DisplayPort,Digital Video Interface (DVI), and others.

In particular, the data communication cable assembly 100 includes afirst connector 110, a cable 130, and a second connector 120. The cable130 is securely attached to the first and second connectors 110 and 120at opposite ends, respectively. The first connector 110 may beconfigured to mate with a connector of a first device (not shown),which, in the case of USB, may be a host device. The second connector120 may be configured to mate with a connector of a second device (notshown), which, in the case of USB, may be a peripheral device.Typically, the first and second connectors 110 and 120 may each beconfigured as a same mating type (male or female) connector, and thecorresponding connectors on the first and second devices may each beconfigured as the opposite mating type (female or male) connector,respectively.

The first connector 110 includes a first signal extender 115 configuredto send and/or receive a differential data signal D+/D− to and/or fromthe first device. In the case where the first signal extender 115 isreceiving a downlink (host-to-peripheral) differential data signal D+/D−from the first device, the first signal extender 115 may amplify,channel filter, and/or pre-emphasize the data signal. Bypre-emphasizing, the first signal extender 115 may increase the slewrate of the data signal transitions, and/or sharpen or alter thetransitions, such as by adding undershoots proximate rising transitionsand/or overshoots proximate falling transitions, respectively. Thesignal extender 115 sends the processed downlink differential datasignal to the second device via a twisted-wire pair 132 of the cable 130and the second connector 120. Such amplification, pre-emphasis, and/orchannel filtering of the downlink differential data signal D+/D− may bebased on a length L of the twisted-wire pair 132.

In the case where the first signal extender 115 receives an uplink(peripheral-to-host) differential data D+/D− from the second device viathe second connector 120 and a twisted-wire pair 134 of the cable 130,the first signal extender 115 may amplify, equalize, perform clock anddata recovery (CDR), perform forward error correction (FEC), and/orbuffer the data based on the received uplink differential data signalD+/D−. For example, the first signal extender 115 may include a variablegain amplifier (VGA), a continuous time linear equalizer (CTLE) and/or adecision feedback equalizer (DFE), a clock and data recovery (CDR)component, an FEC component, and a data buffer. Such amplification andequalizing of the uplink differential data signal D+/D− may be based ona length L of the twisted-wire pair 134. The first signal extender 115may also operate as an arbiter to arbitrate between receiving downlinkdifferential data signal D+/D− from the first device and sending uplinkdifferential data signal D+/D− to the first device.

In the case of a USB-compliant cable, the first connector 110 may alsosend or receive a power signal, such as VBUS and ground (GND), to orfrom the first device. The power signal (VBUS/GND) may be used toprovide power to internal components of the data communication cableassembly 100, such as the first signal extender 115. The power signal(VBUS/GND) may be sent to or received from the second connector 120 viaelectrical wires 138 and 139 of the cable 130, respectively.

The second connector 120 includes a second signal extender 125configured to send and/or receive a differential data signal D+/D− toand/or from the second device. In the case where the second signalextender 125 is receiving an uplink differential data signal D+/D− fromthe second device, the second signal extender 125 may amplify, channelfilter, and/or pre-emphasize the data signal. By pre-emphasizing, thesecond signal extender 125 may increase the slew rate of the data signaltransitions, and/or sharpen or alter the transitions, such as by addingundershoots proximate rising transitions and/or overshoots proximatefalling transitions, respectively. Such amplification, pre-emphasis,and/or channel filtering of the uplink differential data signal D+/D−may be based on a length L of the twisted-wire pair 134.

In the case where the second signal extender 125 receives a downlinkdifferential data D+/D− from the first device via the twisted-wire pair132 of the cable 130, the second signal extender 125 may amplify,equalize, perform clock and data recovery (CDR), perform forward errorcorrection (FEC), and data buffering based on the received downlinkdifferential data signal D+/D−. For example, the second signal extender125 may include a VGA, a CTLE and/or a DFE, a CDR, FEC, and/or databuffer. Such amplification and equalizing of the downlink differentialdata signal D+/D− may be based on a length L of the twisted-wire pair132. The second signal extender 125 also operates as an arbiter toarbitrate between sending the downlink differential data signal D+/D− tothe second device and receiving the uplink differential data signalD+/D− from the second device.

In the case of a USB-compliant cable, the second connector 120 may alsosend or receive the power signal, such as VBUS and ground (GND), to orfrom the second device. The power signal (VBUS/GND) may be used toprovide power to internal components of the data communication cableassembly 100, such as the second signal extender 125. The power signal(VBUS/GND) may be sent to or received from the first connector 110 viathe electrical wires 138 and 139 of the cable 130, respectively.

The first and second signal extenders 115 and 125 allow the datacommunication cable assembly 100 to be made significantly longer becauseit compensates for data signal attenuation and distortion due topropagation via the electrical wire mediums 132 and 134. Thisfacilitates placement of electronic devices in homes, offices,commercial or industrial setting with more flexibility as the datacommunication cable assembly 100 may have sufficient length toaccommodate the placement of such devices.

FIG. 1B illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication cable assembly 150 configured for half-duplex datatransmission over at least one electrical wire medium in accordance withanother aspect of the disclosure. The data communication cable assembly150 is similar to that of data communication cable assembly 100, andincludes many similar elements as indicated by the same referencenumbers. The data communication cable assembly 150 differs from datacommunication cable assembly 100 in that cable assembly 150 isconfigured for half-duplex, time division multiplexing (TDM) datatransmission over a twisted wire pair. Accordingly, the focus of thefollowing discussion of data communication cable assembly 150 is thedifference between cable assembly 150 and cable assembly 100.

In particular, the first connector 110 includes a first signal extender118 configured to receive a downlink differential data signal D+/D− fromthe first device, and process the signal for transmission to the seconddevice via a twisted-wire pair 136 of the cable 130 and the secondconnector 120. The processing of the downlink differential data signalD+/D− by the first signal extender 118 is similar to that of the firstsignal extender 115 previously discussed, e.g., data buffering, signalamplification, channel filtering and/or pre-emphasis, which may be basedon a length L of a twisted-wire pair 136 of the cable 130. The firstsignal extender 118 is also configured to receive an uplink differentialdata signal D+/D− from the second device via the second connector 120and the twisted-wire pair 136 for sending to the first device.Similarly, the processing of the uplink differential data signal D+/D−by the first signal extender 118 is similar to that of the first signalextender 115 previously discussed, e.g., signal amplification,equalization, CDR, FEC, and/or data buffering, which may be based on thelength L of the twisted-wire pair 136 of the cable 130.

However, in this case, the first signal extender 118 transmits andreceives the downlink and uplink differential data signals D+/D− via thetwisted-wire pair 136 in a time division multiplexed (TDM) manner,respectively. That is, within a first time interval, the first signalextender 118 transmits the downlink differential data signal D+/D− viathe twisted-wire pair 136, and within a second time interval(substantially non-overlapping with the first time interval), the firstsignal extender 118 receives the uplink differential data signal D+/D−via the twisted-wire pair 136.

Similarly, the second connector 120 includes a second signal extender128 configured to receive the downlink differential data signal D+/D−from the first device via the first connector 110 and the twisted-wirepair 136 of the cable 130, and process the signal for transmission tothe second device. The processing of the differential data signal D+/D−by the second signal extender 128 is similar to that of the secondsignal extender 125 previously discussed, e.g., signal amplification,equalization, CDR, FEC, and/or data buffering, which may be based on thelength L of the twisted-wire pair 136 of the cable 130. The secondsignal extender 128 is also configured to receive the uplinkdifferential data signal D+/D− from the second device. Similarly, theprocessing of the uplink differential data signal D+/D− by the secondsignal extender 128 is similar to that of the second signal extender 125previously discussed, e.g., data buffering, signal amplification,channel filtering and/or pre-emphasis, which may be based on the lengthL of the twisted-wire pair 136 of the cable 130.

However, in this case, the second signal extender 128 transmits andreceives the uplink and downlink differential data signals D+/D− via thetwisted-wire pair 136 in a time division multiplexed (TDM) manner,respectively. That is, within a first time interval, the second signalextender 128 transmits the uplink differential data signal D+/D− via thetwisted-wire pair 136, and within a second time interval (substantiallynon-overlapping with the first time interval), the second signalextender 128 receives the downlink differential data signal D+/D− viathe twisted-wire pair 136.

FIG. 2A illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary host-sidecascadable data communication cable assembly 200 configured for datatransmission over at least one twisted-wire electrical wire medium inaccordance with another aspect of the disclosure. The data communicationcable assembly 200 is similar to that of cable assembly 150 including afirst connector 210, second connector 220, and cable 230 securelyattached at opposite ends to the first and second connectors 210 and220, respectively.

Additionally, the first connector 210 of the data communication cableassembly 200 includes a signal extender (TDM) 218 which, in thisexample, is configured to TDM half-duplex data transmission, but mayalternatively be configured for full-duplex data transmission as persignal extender 115. The signal extender (TDM) 218 may process the datasignals based on a length L of a twisted-wire pair 232 of the cable 230,as previously discussed. Further, the data communication cable assembly200 includes electrical conductors in the first connector 210,electrical wire mediums 234 and 236 in the cable 230, and electricalconductors in the second connector 220 for transmitting the power signal(VBUS/GND) between the first and second connectors 210 and 220, and tocomponents within the cable assembly 200.

The cascadable data communication cable assembly 200 differs from datacommunication cable assembly 150 in that the twisted-wire pair 232 thatextends through the cable 230 and substantially through the secondconnector 220 up to the electrical contacts for electrical coupling withelectrical contacts of another cable assembly to which it connects.Thus, the second connector 220 may not include a signal extender, suchas signal extender 128 or 125. The second connector 220 may be of theopposite mating type (female or male) as that of (male or female) of thefirst connector 210. This allows the second connector 220 to mate with aconnector of the following cable assembly in the downlink direction.

FIG. 2B illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary host-sidecascadable data communication cable assembly 240 configured for datatransmission over at least one twisted-wire electrical wire medium inaccordance with another aspect of the disclosure. The data communicationcable assembly 240 is similar to that of cable assembly 150 including afirst connector 250, second connector 260, and cable 270 securelyattached at opposite ends to the first and second connectors 250 and260, respectively.

Additionally, the second connector 260 of the data communication cableassembly 240 includes a signal extender (TDM) 262 which, in thisexample, is configured to TDM half-duplex data transmission, but mayalternatively be configured for full-duplex data transmission as persignal extender 215. The signal extender (TDM) 262 may process the datasignals based on a length L of a twisted-wire pair 272 of the cable 270,as previously discussed. Further, the data communication cable assembly240 includes electrical conductors in the first connector 250,electrical wire mediums 274 and 276 in the cable 270, and electricalconductors in the second connector 260 for transmitting the power signal(VBUS/GND) between the first and second connectors 250 and 260, and tocomponents within the cable assembly 240.

The cascadable data communication cable assembly 240 differs from datacommunication cable assembly 150 in that the twisted-wire pair 272extends substantially from the electrical contacts of the firstconnector 250 to the second connector 260 via the cable 270. Thus, thefirst connector 250 may not include a signal extender, such as signalextender 118 or 115. The first connector 250 may be of the oppositemating type (female or male) as that of (male or female) of the secondconnector 260. This allows the first connector 250 to mate with aconnector of cable assembly to which it connects in the downlinkdirection.

FIG. 2C illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary datacommunication system 280 in accordance with another aspect of thedisclosure. The data communication system 280 includes a first device282, which, in the case of a USB-compliant system, may be a host device.The data communication system 280 includes a second device 284, which,in the case of a USB-compliant system, may be a peripheral device. Thedata communication system 280 further includes a set of datacommunication cable assemblies 200-1MF, 200-2MF, 200-3MF, and 150-MMcascaded or daisy-chained together to data couple the first device 282to the second device 284.

More specifically, the data communication cable assemblies 200-1MF,200-2MF, and 200-3MF may each be configured similar to datacommunication cable assembly 200 with the first connector 210 being amale connector and the second connector 220 being a female connector.Accordingly, the cable assembly 200-1MF has a first male connector matedwith a female connector of the first device 282, and a second femaleconnector mated to a first male connector of the cable assembly 200-2MF.

The cable assembly 200-2MF has a second female connector mated with afirst male connector of the cable assembly 200-3MF. The cable assembly200-3MF has a second female connector mated with a first male connectorof the cable assembly 150-MM. The data communication cable assembly150-MM is similar to data communication cable assembly 150 (or 100 inthe full-duplex case) with the first and second connectors both beingmale connectors. Accordingly, the second male connector of the cableassembly 150-MM is mated with the female connector of the second device284.

FIG. 2D illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication system 290 in accordance with another aspect of thedisclosure. The data communication system 290 includes a first device292, which, in the case of a USB-compliant system, may be a host device.The data communication system 290 includes a second device 294, which,in the case of a USB-compliant system, may be a peripheral device. Thedata communication cable 290 further includes a set of datacommunication cable assemblies 150-MM, 240-1FM, 240-2FM, and 240-3FMcascaded or daisy-chained together to data couple the first device 292to the second device 294.

More specifically, the data communication cable assemblies 240-1FM,240-2FM, and 240-3FM may each be configured similar to datacommunication cable assembly 240 with the first connector 250 being afemale connector and the second connector 260 being a male connector.The data communication cable assembly 150-MM is similar to datacommunication cable assembly 150 (or 100 in the full-duplex case) withthe first and second connectors both being male connectors.

Accordingly, the cable assembly 150-MM has a first male connector matedwith a female connector of the first device 292, and a second maleconnector mated to a first female connector of the cable assembly240-1FM. The cable assembly 240-1FM has a second male connector matedwith a first female connector of the cable assembly 240-2FM. The cableassembly 240-2FM has a second male connector mated with a first femaleconnector of the cable assembly 240-3FM. The data communication cableassembly 240-3FM has a second male connector mated with the femaleconnector of the second device 294.

FIG. 3A illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary cascadabledata communication cable assembly 300 including a twisted-wire pairelectrical mediums in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure.The cascadable data communication cable assembly 300 is similar to thatof data communication cable assembly 100 with similar elementsidentified by the same reference numbers except the most significantdigital (MSD) in the case of cable assembly 300 is a “3” instead of a“1”. However, it shall be understood that the cascadable datacommunication cable assembly 300 may be configured similar to thehalf-duplex version cable assembly 150.

Thus, the cascadable data communication cable assembly 300 includes afirst connector 310 with a signal extender 315, a cable 330 with one ormore twisted-wire pairs 332 and 334, and a second connector 320 with asecond signal extender 325. The data communication cable assembly 300further includes power signal (VBUS, GND) electrical conductors in thefirst connector 310, electrical wires 336 and 338 in the cable 330, andelectrical conductors in the second connector 320.

The cascadable communication cable assembly 300 differs from datacommunication cable 100 in that the second connector 320 is of theopposite mating type (female or male) as that of the first connector310. This feature allows a set of two or more cable assemblies 300 to becascaded or daisy-chained to form a longer length cable. Such as byconnecting the second connector of one of the cables to the firstconnector of the cascaded or following/preceded cable, and so on. Anexample of a data communication system with a set of cascaded datacommunication cable assemblies is described below.

FIG. 3B illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary data communicationsystem 340 including a set of cascaded data communication cableassemblies in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure. The datacommunication system 340 includes a first device 350. In the case of aUSB-compliant system 340, the first device 350 may be a host device.

The data communication system 340 further includes two or more datacommunication cable assemblies 300-1MF, 300-2MF, and 300-3MF (e.g.,three, but could be any number) cascaded or daisy-chained together toform a longer cable. The data communication cable assembly 300-1MFincludes a first male connector mated with a female connector of thefirst device 350. The data communication cable assembly 300-2MF has afirst male connector mated with a second female connector of datacommunication cable assembly 300-1MF. The data communication cableassembly 300-3MF has a first male connector mated with a second femaleconnector of data communication cable assembly 300-2MF. As the datacommunication cable assembly 300-3MF has a second female connector, itmay not be able to mate with the female connector of a second device360. In the case of a USB-compliant system 340, the second device 360may be a peripheral device.

Accordingly, the data communication system 340 includes a datacommunication cable assembly 100-MM that includes first and second maleconnectors. This allows the data communication cable assembly 100 tomate with the female connector of the data communication cable assembly300-3MF and the female connector of the second device 360. Thus, thecables 300-1MF, 300-2MF, 300-3MF, and 100-MM may be cascadable ordaisy-chained to form longer length cables in order to meet the distancerequirements for desirably-placed devices. As the cables 300-1MF,300-2MF, 300-3MF, and 100-MM include signal extenders, the differentialdata signal communicated between the first and second devices 350 and360 may be successfully transmitted and recovered.

FIG. 3C illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary data communicationsystem 370 including a set of cascaded data communication cableassemblies in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure. The datacommunication system 370 includes a first device 380. In the case of aUSB-compliant system 370, the first device 380 may be a host device.

The data communication system 370 further includes two or more datacommunication cable assemblies 100-MM, 300-1FM, 300-2FM, and 300-3MF(e.g., three, but could be any number) cascaded or daisy-chainedtogether to form a longer cable. The data communication cable assembly100-MM includes a first male connector mated with a female connector ofthe first device 380. The data communication cable assembly 300-1FMincludes a first female connector mated with a second male connector ofdata communication cable assembly 100-MM. The data communication cableassembly 300-2FM has a first female connector mated with a second maleconnector of data communication cable assembly 300-1FM. The datacommunication cable assembly 300-3FM has a first female connector matedwith a second male connector of data communication cable assembly300-2FM. The data communication cable assembly 300-3FM includes a secondmale connector mated with a female connector of the second device 390.In the case of a USB-compliant system 370, the second device 390 may bea peripheral device.

Thus, the cable assemblies 100-MM, 300-1FM, 300-2FM, and 300-3FM may becascadable or daisy-chained to form longer length cables in order tomeet the distance requirements for desirably-placed devices. As thecables 100-MM, 300-1FM, 300-2FM, and 300-3FM include signal extenders,the differential data signal communicated between the first and seconddevices 380 and 390 may be successfully transmitted and recovered.

FIG. 4A illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary hostsignal extender 400 in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure.The host signal extender 400 is an exemplary detailed implementation ofthe signal extenders 115, 118, 218, and 315 previously discussed.

In particular, the host signal extender 400, on the transmitter-side,includes a data buffer 411, a transmit driver 412, a pre-emphasizer 414,and a channel filter 416. The data buffer 411 receives a downlinkdifferential data signal from a first (host) device via an arbiter 440,and buffers the data if needed (e.g., because the correspondingtwisted-wire pair is receiving a data signal at the same time). Thetransmit driver 412 amplifies the downlink differential data signal forcompliant transmission via the twisted-wire pair(s). The pre-emphasizer414 applies pre-emphasis to the data signal as previously discussed. Thechannel filter 416 filters the downlink differential data signal toremove noise and out-of-band unwanted signals. Because the twisted-wirepair(s) attenuate and distorts (e.g., reduces high frequency componentsof) the data signal based on the length of the twisted-wire pair(s), theamplification, pre-emphasis, and filtering may be based on the length ofthe twisted-wire pair.

In the case of a full-duplex transmission as per data communicationcable assemblies 100 and 300, the output of the channel filter 416 maybe coupled directly to the downlink twisted-wire pair. In the case of ahalf-duplex transmission as per data communication cable assemblies 150and 200, the output of the channel filter 416 may be coupled to thedownlink twisted-wire pair via a time-division multiplexer (TDM) 445.

The host signal extender 400, on the receiver-side, includes a variablegain amplifier

(VGA) 422, an equalizer 424, a clock and data recovery (CDR) 426, aforward error correction (FEC) 428, and a data buffer 430. In the caseof a full-duplex transmission as per data communication cable assemblies100 and 300, the input of the VGA 422 may be coupled directly to theuplink twisted-wire pair. In the case of a half-duplex transmission asper data communication cable assemblies 150 and 200, the input of theVGA 422 may be coupled to the uplink twisted-wire pair via the TDM 445.The VGA 422 amplifies the received uplink differential data signal.

The equalizer 424, which may include a continuous time linear equalizer(CTLE) and/or a decision feedback equalizer (DFE), includes a frequencyresponse to boost high frequency components of the uplink differentialdata signal to compensate for high frequency losses due to transmissionvia the uplink twisted-wire pair. The CDR 426 recovers the data andclock associated with the uplink differential data signal (e.g.,performs signal retiming). The FEC 428 corrects error in the data thatmay have occurred in the uplink differential data signal. And, the databuffer 430 may buffer the uplink data if, for example, the arbiter 440is busy providing the downlink data signal to the transmitter-side ofthe host signal extender 400. Because the twisted-wire pair(s) attenuateand distorts (e.g., reduces high frequency components of) the datasignal based on the length of the twisted-wire pair(s), theamplification and equalization may be based on the length of thetwisted-wire pair.

FIG. 4B illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary peripheralsignal extender 450 in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure.The peripheral signal extender 450 is an exemplary detailedimplementation of the signal extenders 125, 128, 262, and 325 previouslydiscussed.

In particular, the peripheral signal extender 450, on thetransmitter-side, includes a data buffer 462, a transmit driver 464, apre-emphasizer 466, and a channel filter 468. The data buffer 462receives an uplink differential data signal from a second (peripheral)device via an arbiter 495, and buffers the data if needed (e.g., becausethe corresponding twisted-wire pair is receiving a data signal at thesame time). The transmit driver 464 amplifies the uplink differentialdata signal for compliant transmission via the twisted-wire pair(s). Thepre-emphasizer 466 applies pre-emphasis to the data signal as previouslydiscussed. The channel filter 468 filters the uplink differential datasignal to remove noise and out-of-band unwanted signals. Because thetwisted-wire pair(s) attenuate and distorts (e.g., reduces highfrequency components of) the data signal based on the length of thetwisted-wire pair(s), the amplification, pre-emphasis, and filtering maybe based on the length of the twisted-wire pair.

In the case of a full-duplex transmission as per data communicationcable assemblies 100 and 300, the output of the channel filter 468 maybe coupled directly to the uplink twisted-wire pair. In the case of ahalf-duplex transmission as per data communication cable assemblies 150and 200, the output of the channel filter 468 may be coupled to theuplink twisted-wire pair via a time-division multiplexer (TDM) 490.

The peripheral signal extender 400, on the receiver-side, includes avariable gain amplifier (VGA) 452, an equalizer 454, a clock and datarecovery (CDR) 456, a forward error correction (FEC) 458, and a databuffer 460. In the case of a full-duplex transmission as per datacommunication cable assemblies 100 and 300, the input of the VGA 452 maybe coupled directly to the downlink twisted-wire pair. In the case of ahalf-duplex transmission as per data communication cable assemblies 150and 200, the input of the VGA 452 may be coupled to the downlinktwisted-wire pair via the TDM 490. The VGA 452 amplifies the receiveddownlink differential data signal.

The equalizer 454, which may include a continuous time linear equalizer(CTLE) and/or a decision feedback equalizer (DFE), includes a frequencyresponse to boost high frequency components of the downlink differentialdata signal to compensate for high frequency losses due to transmissionvia the downlink twisted-wire pair. The CDR 456 recovers the data andclock associated with the uplink differential data signal (e.g.,performs signal retiming). The FEC 458 corrects error in the data thatmay have occurred in the uplink differential data signal. And, the databuffer 460 may buffer the downlink data if, for example, the arbiter 495is busy providing the uplink data signal to the transmitter-side of theperipheral signal extender 450. Because the twisted-wire pair(s)attenuate and distorts (e.g., reduces high frequency components of) thedata signal based on the length of the twisted-wire pair(s), theamplification and equalization may be based on the length of thetwisted-wire pair.

FIG. 5A illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary datacommunication cable assembly 500 configured for full-duplex datatransmission over optical mediums in accordance with an aspect of thedisclosure. The data communication cable assembly 500 may be used forany type of data communication application. In the example describedherein, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) compliant cable is used toexemplify the cable concepts. However, it shall be understood that thedata communication cable assembly 500 may be configured for other typesof data transmission, such as those compliant with High DefinitionMultimedia Interface (HDMI), DisplayPort, Digital Video Interface (DVI),and others.

In particular, the data communication cable assembly 500 includes afirst connector 510, a cable 550, and a second connector 560. The cable550 is securely attached to the first and second connectors 510 and 560at opposite ends, respectively. The first connector 510 may beconfigured to mate with a connector of a first device (not shown),which, in the case of USB, may be a host device. The second connector560 may be configured to mate with a connector of a second device (notshown), which, in the case of USB, may be a peripheral device.Typically, the first and second connectors 510 and 560 may each beconfigured as the same mating type (male or female) connector, and thecorresponding connectors on the first and second devices may each beconfigured as the opposite mating type (female or male) connector,respectively.

The first connector 510 includes a first half-to-full duplex converter515 configured to send and/or receive uplink and/or downlinkdifferential data signal D+/D− to and/or from the first device in ahalf- or full-duplex manner The first connector 510 further includes alaser diode driver (LDD) 520 configured to receive the downlinkdifferential data signal Tx+/Tx−, and generate a drive signal for alaser diode (LD) 525. The LD 525, in turn, generates an optical downlinkdata signal modulated with the data signal for transmission to thesecond device via an optical transmission medium 552 (e.g., an opticalfiber) and the second connector 560.

The first connector 510 further includes a photo diode or detector (PD)530 configured to receive an uplink optical data signal modulated with adata signal originating from the second device via the second connector560 and an optical transmission medium 554 (e.g., an optical fiber). ThePD 530 converts the optical uplink data signal into a modulated current.The first connector 510 further includes a transimpedance amplifier(TIA) 535 configured to covert the modulated current into an uplinkdifferential data voltage signal Rx+/Rx−. The half-to-full duplexconverter 515 sends the uplink differential data voltage signal Rx+/Rx−as a compliant electrical uplink data signal D+/D− to the first device.

In the case of a USB-compliant cable, the first connector 510 may alsosend or receive a power signal, such as VBUS and ground (GND), to orfrom the first device. The power signal (VBUS/GND) may be used toprovide power to internal components of the data communication cable500, such as the first half-to-full duplex converter 515, the LDD 520,the LD 525, the PD 530, and the TIA 535. The power signal (VBUS/GND) maybe sent to or received from the second connector 560 via electricalwires 558 and 559 of the cable 550, respectively.

The second connector 560 includes a second half-to-full duplex converter565 configured to send and/or receive downlink and/or uplinkdifferential data signal D+/D− to and/or from the second device in ahalf- or full-duplex manner The second connector 560 further includes aphoto diode or detector (PD) 570 configured to receive a downlinkoptical data signal modulated with a data signal originating from thefirst device via the first connector 510 and the optical transmissionmedium 552. The PD 570 converts the modulated optical signal into amodulated current. The second connector 560 further includes atransimpedance amplifier (TIA) 575 configured to covert the modulatedcurrent into a downlink differential data voltage signal Rx+/Rx−. Thesecond half-to-full duplex converter 565 sends the downlink differentialdata voltage signal Rx+/Rx− as a compliant electrical downlink datasignal D+/D− to the second device.

The second connector 560 further includes a laser diode driver (LDD) 580configured to receive the electrical uplink data signal Tx+/Tx−, andgenerate a drive signal for a laser diode (LD) 585. The LD 585, in turn,generates an uplink optical data signal modulated with the data signalfor transmission to the first device via the optical transmission medium554 and the first connector 510.

In the case of a USB-compliant cable, the second connector 560 may alsosend or receive a power signal, such as VBUS and ground (GND), to orfrom the second device. The power signal (VBUS/GND) may be used toprovide power to internal components of the data communication cableassembly 500, such as the second half-to-full duplex converter 565, theLDD 580, the LD 585, the PD 570, and the TIA 575. The power signal(VBUS/GND) may be sent to or received from the first connector 510 viathe electrical wires 558 and 559 of the cable 550, respectively.

The conversion from electrical-to-optical signal domain and vice-versaallows the data communication cable assembly 500 to be madesignificantly longer because the optical transmission mediums 552 and554 are typically less lossy and have higher bandwidth as compared toelectrical wire mediums. This facilitates placement of electronicdevices in homes, offices, commercial or industrial setting with moreflexibility as the data communication cable assembly may have sufficientlength to accommodate the placement of such devices.

FIG. 5B illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication cable assembly 502 configured for half-duplex datatransmission over at least one optical transmission medium (e.g., anoptical fiber) in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure. Thedata communication cable 502 is similar to that of data communicationcable assembly 500, and includes many similar elements as indicated bythe same reference numbers. The data communication cable assembly 502differs from data communication cable assembly 500 in that cableassembly 502 is configured for half-duplex, time division multiplexing(TDM) data transmission over an optical transmission medium.Accordingly, the focus of the following discussion of data communicationcable assembly 502 is its difference with data communication cableassembly 500.

In particular, the first connector 510 includes a half-to-full duplexconverter (TDM) 516 configured to receive a downlink differential datasignal D+/D− from the first device, and process the signal fortransmission to the second device via an optical transmission medium 552and the second connector 560. The half-to-full duplex converter (TDM)516 is also configured to receive an uplink differential data signalD+/D− from the second device via the second connector 560 and theoptical transmission medium 552. The processing of the differential datasignal D+/D− by the first half-to-full duplex converter (TDM) 516 issimilar to that of the first half-to-full duplex converter 515previously discussed, e.g., receiving a downlink data signal from andsending an uplink data signal to the first device in a half- orfull-duplex manner

However, in this case, the first half-to-full duplex converter (TDM) 516transmits and receives the uplink and downlink differential data signalsD+/D− via the optical transmission medium 552 in a time divisionmultiplexed (TDM) manner That is, within a first time interval, thefirst half-to-full duplex converter (TDM) 516 including the LDD 520 andthe LD 525 transmits the downlink optical data signal D+/D− via theoptical transmission medium 552, and within a second time interval(substantially non-overlapping with the first time interval) the firsthalf-to-full duplex converter (TDM) 516 including the PD 530 and TIA 535receive the uplink optical data signal D+/D− from optical transmissionmedium 552.

Similarly, the second connector 560 includes a second half-to-fullduplex converter (TDM) 566 configured to receive a downlink differentialdata signal D+/D− from the first device via the first connector 510 andcable 550, and process the signal for transmission to the second device.The second half-to-full duplex converter (TDM) 566 is also configured toreceive an electrical uplink data signal D+/D− from the second deviceand process the signal for transmission to the first device via theoptical transmission medium 552 and the first connector 510. Theprocessing of the differential data signal D+/D− by the secondhalf-to-full duplex converter (TDM) 566 is similar to that of the firsthalf-to-full duplex converter (TDM) 565 previously discussed, e.g.,receiving an electrical uplink data signal from and sending anelectrical downlink data signal to the second device in a half- orfull-duplex manner

However, in this case, the second half-to-full duplex converter (TDM)566 transmits and receives the uplink and downlink data signals D+/D−via the optical transmission medium 552 in a time division multiplexed(TDM) manner That is, within a first time interval, the secondhalf-to-full duplex converter (TDM) 566 including the LDD 580 and the LD585 transmits an uplink optical data signal D+/D− via the opticaltransmission medium 552, and within a second time interval(substantially non-overlapping with the first time interval) the secondhalf-to-full duplex converter (TDM) 566 including the PD 570 and TIA 575receive the optical downlink data signal D+/D− via the opticaltransmission medium 552.

FIG. 5C illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplary datacommunication cable assembly 506 configured for full-duplex datatransmission over at least one optical transmission electrical medium(e.g., an optical fiber) in accordance with another aspect of thedisclosure. The data communication cable 506 is similar to that of datacommunication cable assemblies 500 and 502, and includes many similarelements as indicated by the same reference numbers. The datacommunication cable assembly 506 differs from data communication cableassemblies 500 and 502 in that cable assembly 506 is configured forfull-duplex, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) data transmissionover an optical transmission medium. Accordingly, the focus of thefollowing discussion of data communication cable assembly 506 is itsdifference with data communication cable assemblies 500 and 502.

In the case of data communication cable assembly 506, the half-to-fullduplex converter 515 transmits and receives downlink and uplinkdifferential data signals D+/D− via the optical transmission medium 552in a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) manner That is, within afirst wavelength range, the half-to-full duplex converter 515 includingthe LDD 520, the LD 525, and a wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) 540transmit the downlink optical differential data signal D+/D− via theoptical transmission medium 552, and within a second wavelength range(substantially non-overlapping with the first wavelength range) thehalf-to-full duplex converter 515 including the WDM 540, PD 530, and theTIA 535 receive the uplink optical differential data signal D+/D− fromoptical transmission medium 552.

Similarly, the second half-to-full duplex converter (TDM) 565 transmitsand receives the uplink and downlink differential data signals D+/D− viathe optical transmission medium 552 in a wavelength division multiplexed(WDM) manner That is, within a first wavelength range, the secondhalf-to-full duplex converter (TDM) 565 including the LDD 580, laserdiode 585, and a wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) 585 transmits anuplink optical differential data signal D+/D− via the opticaltransmission medium 552, and within a second wavelength range(substantially non-overlapping with the first wavelength range) thesecond half-to-full duplex converter 566 including the WDM 585, PD 570,and TIA 575 receive the downlink optical differential data signal D+/D−via the optical transmission medium 552.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary cascadabledata communication cable assembly 600 including optical transmissionmediums in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure. Thecascadable data communication cable assembly 600 is similar to that ofdata communication cable assembly 500 with similar elements identifiedby the same reference numbers except the most significant digital (MSD)is a “6” instead of a “5”. However, it shall be understood that thecascadable data communication cable assembly 600 may be configuredsimilar to data communication cable assemblies 502 and 506.

In particular, the cascadable data communication cable assembly 600includes a first connector 610 with a half-to-full duplex converter 615,LDD 620, LD 625, PD 630, and TIA 635, a cable 650 with one or moreoptical transmission mediums 652 and 654, and a second connector 660with a half-to-full duplex converter 665, LDD 680, LD 685, PD 670, andTIA 675. The data communication cable assembly 600 further includespower signal (VBUS, GND) electrical conductors in the first connector610, electrical wires 658 and 659 in the cable 650, and electricalconductors in the second connector 660.

The cascadable communication cable assembly 600 differs from datacommunication cable 500 in that the second connector 660 is of theopposite mating type (female or male) as that of the first connector610. This feature allows a set of two or more cable assemblies 600 to becascaded to form a longer length cable. Such as by connecting the secondconnector of one of the cables to the first connector of the cascaded orfollowing/preceded cable, and so on. An example of a data communicationsystem with a set of cascaded data communication cable assemblies isdescribed below.

FIG. 7A illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary data communicationsystem 700 including a set of cascaded data communication cableassemblies in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure. The datacommunication system 700 includes a first device 710. In the case of aUSB-compliant system 700, the first device 710 may be a host device.

The data communication system 700 further includes two or more datacommunication cable assemblies 600-1MF, 600-2MF, and 600-3MF (e.g.,three or any number as desired) cascaded to form a longer cable. Each ofthe cable assemblies 600-1MF, 600-2MF, and 600-3MF may be configuredsimilar to data communication cable assembly 600.

The data communication cable assembly 600-1MF includes a first maleconnector mated with a female connector of the first device 710. Thedata communication cable assembly 600-2MF includes a first maleconnector mated with a second female connector of data communicationcable assembly 600-1MF. The data communication cable assembly 600-3MFincludes a first male connector mated with a second female connector ofdata communication cable assembly 600-2MF. As the data communicationcable 600-3 may have a second female connector, it may not be able tomate with the female connector of a second device 720. In the case of aUSB-compliant system 700, the second device 720 may be a peripheraldevice.

Accordingly, the data communication system 700 includes a datacommunication cable assembly 500-MM that includes both male first andsecond connectors. This allows the data communication cable assembly 500to mate with the second female connector of the data communication cableassembly 600-3MF and the female connector of the second device 720. Thedata communication cable assembly 500-MM may be configured similar todata communication cable assembly 500 (or 502 or 506).

Thus, the cables 600-1MF, 600-2MF, 600-3MF, and 500-MM may be cascadableor daisy-chained to form longer length cables in order to meet thedistance requirements for desirably-placed devices. As the cables600-1MF, 600-2MF, 600-3MF, and 500-MM include low loss and distortionoptical transmission mediums, the data signal communicated between thefirst and second devices 710 and 720 may be successfully transmitted andrecovered.

FIG. 7B illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary data communicationsystem 750 including a set of cascaded data communication cableassemblies in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure. The datacommunication system 750 includes a first device 760. In the case of aUSB-compliant system 750, the first device 760 may be a host device.

The data communication system 750 further includes two or more datacommunication cable assemblies 500-MM, 600-1FM, 600-2FM, and 600-3FM(e.g., four or any number as desired) cascaded to form a longer cable.The data communication cable assembly 500-MM may be configured similarto data communication cable assembly 500 (or 502 or 506). Each of thecable assemblies 600-1MF, 600-2MF, and 600-3MF may be configured similarto data communication cable assembly 600.

The data communication cable assembly 500-MM includes a first maleconnector mated with a female connector of the first device 760. Thedata communication cable assembly 600-1FM includes a first femaleconnector mated with a second male connector of data communication cableassembly 500-MM. The data communication cable assembly 600-2FM includesa first female connector mated with a second male connector of datacommunication cable assembly 600-1FM. The data communication cableassembly 600-3FM includes a first female connector mated with a secondmale connector of data communication cable assembly 600-2MF. The datacommunication cable 600-3FM includes a second male connector mated withthe female connector of a second device 770. In the case of aUSB-compliant system 700, the second device 770 may be a peripheraldevice.

Thus, the cables 500-MM, 600-1FM, 600-2FM, and 600-3FM may be cascadableor daisy-chained to form longer length cables in order to meet thedistance requirements for desirably-placed devices. As the cables500-MM, 600-1FM, 600-2FM, and 600-3FM include low loss and distortionoptical transmission mediums, the data signal communicated between thefirst and second devices 760 and 770 may be successfully transmitted andrecovered.

FIG. 8A illustrates a block/schematic diagram of an exemplary host-sidecascadable data communication cable assembly 800 including one or moreoptical transmission mediums in accordance with another aspect of thedisclosure. The cascadable data communication cable assembly 800includes a first connector similar to that of data communication cableassembly 500, but a second connector that is in the optical domain fordata transmission. Thus, the cascadable data communication cableassembly 800 includes a first connector 810 with a half-to-full duplexconverter 815, LDD 812, LD 814, PD 816, and TIA 818, and a cable 820with one or more optical transmission mediums 822 and 824. The datacommunication cable assembly 800 further includes power signal (VBUS,GND) electrical conductors in the first connector 810, electrical wiremediums 828 and 829 in the cable 820, and electrical conductors in thesecond connector 830.

The cascadable data communication cable assembly 800 differs from datacommunication cable assembly 500 in that the second connector 830 is ofthe opposite mating type (female or male) as that of the first connector810. This feature facilitates cascading the cable assemblies, asdiscussed in more detail herein. Another difference between datacommunication cable assembly 800 and data communication cable assembly500 is that the peripheral-side of the second connector 830 continues inoptical domain In this regard, the optical transmission mediums 822 and824 of the cable 830 may extend into and through the second connector830 for optical connection to other optical transmission mediums in theanother cable.

FIG. 8B illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplaryintermediate cascadable data communication cable assembly 840 includingone or more optical transmission mediums in accordance with anotheraspect of the disclosure. The cascadable data communication cableassembly 840 includes first and second connectors that are in theoptical domain for data transmission. The data communication cableassembly 840 further includes power signal (VBUS, GND) electricalconductors in the first connector 841, electrical wires 858 and 859 inthe cable 850, and electrical conductors in the second connector 860.

More specifically, the data communication cable assembly 840 includes afirst connector 841 (male or female) including optical transmissionmediums 843 and 845 for optically coupling to optical transmissionmediums of a data communication cable assembly to which it mates on theleft side of the cable assembly 840. The optical data signals may betransmitted between the first and second connectors 841 and 860 viaoptical transmission mediums 852 and 854 of the cable 850, respectively.Similarly, the second connector 860 (female or male) includes opticaltransmission mediums 863 and 865 for optically coupling to opticaltransmission mediums of a data communication cable assembly to which itmates on the right side of the cable assembly 840.

FIG. 8C illustrates a block/schematic diagram of another exemplaryperipheral-side cascadable data communication cable assembly 870including one or more optical transmission mediums in accordance withanother aspect of the disclosure. The cascadable data communicationcable assembly 870 includes a first connector similar to that of datacommunication cable assembly 840, and a second connector similar to thatof data communication cable assembly 500 (but of the opposite matingtype). The data communication cable assembly 870 further includes powersignal (VBUS, GND) electrical conductors in the first connector 871,electrical wires 888 and 889 in the cable 880, and electrical conductorsin the second connector 890.

More specifically, the data communication cable assembly 870 includes afirst connector 871 (male or female) including optical transmissionmediums 873 and 875 for optically coupling to optical transmissionmediums of a data communication cable assembly to which it mates on theleft side of the cable assembly 840.

The second connector 890 (male or female) includes a half-to-full duplexconverter 892 configured to send and/or receive downlink and uplinkdifferential data signals D+/D− to and/or from the second device. Thesecond connector 890 further includes a photo diode or detector (PD) 894configured to receive a downlink optical signal modulated with a datasignal originating from the first device via the first connector 871 andthe optical transmission medium 882. The PD 894 converts the modulatedoptical signal into a modulated current. The second connector 890further includes a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) 896 configured toconvert the modulated current into a downlink differential data voltagesignal Rx+/Rx−. The half-to-full duplex converter 892 sends thedifferential data voltage signal Rx+/Rx− as an electrical downlink datasignal D+/D− to the second device.

The second connector 890 further includes a laser diode driver (LDD) 898configured to receive an electrical uplink data signal Tx+/Tx−, andgenerate a drive signal for a laser diode (LD) 899. The LD 899, in turn,generates an optical uplink data signal modulated with the data signalfor transmission to the first device via the optical transmission medium884 and the first connector 871.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary data communicationsystem 900 including a set of cascaded data communication cableassemblies in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure. The datacommunication system 900 includes a first device 910. In the case of aUSB-compliant system 900, the first device 910 may be a host device.

The data communication system 900 further includes two or more datacommunication cable assemblies 800, 840-1 and 840-2 (e.g., two or anyother number), and 870 cascaded to form a longer cable. The datacommunication cable assembly 800 on the left may be connected to thefirst device 710. The left-middle data communication cable assembly840-1 is connected to the left data communication cable assembly 800 andto the right-middle data communication cable assembly 840-2. As theright-middle data communication cable 840-2 may have a right femaleconnector, it may not be able to mate with the female connector of asecond device 920. In the case of a USB-compliant system 900, the seconddevice 920 may be a peripheral device.

Accordingly, the data communication system 900 includes a right-mostdata communication cable assembly 870 that includes both male first andsecond connectors. This allows the data communication cable assembly 870to mate with the female connector of the right-middle data communicationcable assembly 840-2 and the female connector of the second device 920.Thus, the cable assemblies 800, 840-1, 840-2, and 870 may be cascadableor daisy-chained to form longer length cables in order to meet thedistance requirements for desirably-placed devices. As the cableassemblies 800, 840-1, 840-2, and 870 include low loss and distortionoptical transmission mediums, the data signal communicated between thefirst and second devices 910 and 920 may be successfully transmitted andrecovered.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable anyperson skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Variousmodifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scopeof the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited tothe examples described herein but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

1. A data communication cable assembly, comprising: a first connectorconfigured to mate with a connector of a first device; a secondconnector configured to mate with a connector of a second device; acable including opposite ends securely attached to the first and secondconnectors, respectively, wherein the cable comprises one or moreelectrical wire mediums configured to transmit a data signal between thefirst and second devices; and a signal extender configured to modify thedata signal to improve the transmission of the data signal between thefirst and second devices, wherein the data signal is transmitted fromthe first device to the second device, wherein the first connectorcomprises the signal extender, wherein the signal extender comprises atransmit driver configured to amplify the data signal received from thefirst device prior transmission via the one or more electrical wiremediums, and wherein the transmit driver is configured to amplify thedata signal based on a length of at least one of the one or moreelectrical wire mediums.
 2. (canceled)
 3. (canceled)
 4. (canceled) 5.(canceled)
 6. The data communication cable assembly of claim 1, whereinthe signal extender comprises a pre-emphasizer configured topre-emphasize the data signal received from the first device prior totransmission via the one or more electrical wire mediums.
 7. The datacommunication cable assembly of claim 6, wherein the pre-emphasizer isconfigured to pre-emphasize the data signal by increasing a slew rate oftransitions of the data signal, adding undershoots proximate risingtransitions of the data signal, or adding overshoots proximate fallingtransitions of the data signal.
 8. The data communication cable assemblyof claim 6, wherein the degree of pre-emphasis applied to the datasignal is based on a length of at least one of the one or moreelectrical wire mediums.
 9. The data communication cable assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the signal extender comprises a channel filterconfigured to filter the data signal received from the first deviceprior to transmission via the one or more electrical wire mediums.
 10. Adata communication cable assembly, comprising: a first connectorconfigured to mate with a connector of a first device; a secondconnector configured to mate with a connector of a second device; acable including opposite ends securely attached to the first and secondconnectors, respectively, wherein the cable comprises one or moreelectrical wire mediums configured to transmit a data signal between thefirst and second devices; and a signal extender configured to modify thedata signal to improve the transmission of the data signal between thefirst and second devices, wherein the second connector comprises thesignal extender, wherein the signal extender comprises an amplifierconfigured to amplify the data signal received from the first device viathe one or more electrical wire mediums, and wherein the amplifier isconfigured to amplify the data signal based on a length of at least oneof the one or more electrical wire mediums.
 11. (canceled) 12.(canceled)
 13. The data communication cable assembly of claim 10,wherein the signal extender comprises an equalizer configured toequalize the data signal received from the first device via the one ormore electrical wire mediums.
 14. The data communication cable assemblyof claim 13, wherein the equalizer comprises a continuous time linearequalizer (CTLE) or a decision feedback equalizer (DFE).
 15. The datacommunication cable assembly of claim 13, wherein a frequency responseof the equalizer is based on a length of at least one of the one or moreelectrical wire mediums.
 16. The data communication cable assembly ofclaim 10, wherein the signal extender comprises a clock and datarecovery (CDR) circuit configured to recover a clock and data based onthe data signal received from the first device via the one or moreelectrical wire mediums.
 17. The data communication cable assembly ofclaim 10, wherein the signal extender comprises a forward errorcorrection (FEC) circuit configured to correct one or more errors indata recovered from the data signal received from the first device viathe one or more electrical wire mediums.
 18. The data communicationcable assembly of claim 1, wherein the data signal comprises a downlinkdata signal transmitted from the first device to the second device, andan uplink data signal transmitted from the second device to the firstdevice.
 19. The data communication cable assembly of claim 18, whereinthe downlink and uplink data signals are transmitted via the one or moreelectrical wire mediums in a full-duplex manner.
 20. The datacommunication cable assembly of claim 18, wherein the downlink anduplink data signals are transmitted via the one or more electrical wiremediums in a half-duplex manner.
 21. A data communication cableassembly, comprising: a first connector configured to mate with aconnector of a first device; a second connector configured to mate witha connector of a second device; a cable including opposite ends securelyattached to the first and second connectors, respectively, wherein thecable comprises one or more electrical wire mediums configured totransmit a data signal between the first and second devices; and asignal extender configured to modify the data signal to improve thetransmission of the data signal between the first and second devices,wherein the signal extender comprises a pre-emphasizer configured topre-emphasize the data signal received from the first device prior totransmission via the one or more electrical wire mediums, and whereinthe degree of pre-emphasis applied to the data signal is based on alength of at least one of the one or more electrical wire mediums.
 22. Adata communication cable assembly, comprising: a first connectorconfigured to mate with a connector of a first device; a secondconnector configured to mate with a connector of a second device; acable including opposite ends securely attached to the first and secondconnectors, respectively, wherein the cable comprises one or moreelectrical wire mediums configured to transmit a data signal between thefirst and second devices; and a signal extender configured to modify thedata signal to improve the transmission of the data signal between thefirst and second devices, wherein the signal extender comprises anequalizer configured to equalize the data signal received from the firstdevice via the one or more electrical wire mediums, and wherein afrequency response of the equalizer is based on a length of at least oneof the one or more electrical wire mediums.